A Tejas aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday crashed on a hostel building at Jaisalmer’s Kotwali area in Rajasthan even as the pilot ejected safely, officials said.
“One Tejas aircraft of the Indian Air Force met with an accident at Jaisalmer, today during an operational training sortie. The pilot ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been constituted to find out the cause of the accident,” the Indian Air Force (IAF) said in a post on ‘X’.
The ill-fated aircraft was said to be a part of the Bharat Shakti live exercise in Pokhran witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other Union ministers this afternoon.
Superintendent of Police (Jaisalmer) Sudhir Choudhary said three students were present in the hostel building when the crash took place, but no casualty was reported.
Four firefighter vans were rushed to the spot to douse the fire, he said.
“My team along with Jaisalmer Collector Pratap Singh visited the site and also met the pilot who is hale and hearty,” the police officer said.
The HAL Tejas is an Indian single engine, delta wing, light multirole fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency in collaboration with Aircraft Research and Design Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.